Vehicle mudguard



y 1942. w. 0. WILSON 2,282,443

VEHICLE MUD GUARD Filed April 14, 1941 i M/[zkm KMYS'M ATTORNEYS Patented May 12,1942 I 1 UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE William 0. Wilson, Perth Amboy, N. J. Application Apl'il 14, 1941, Serial No. 388,527

1 Claim.

This invention relates to vehicle mud guards, and its general object is to improve the structure of my Patent No. 2,197,328. While the improved guard like that of the patented guard, has an opening extending longitudinally of the top and side'thereof, to allow ready access below the guard to facilitate application and removal of anti-skid chains, or for any other purpose, and a hinged closure is provided for the opening, the stop member for the closure in the present guard is entirely different, in that it is made from any suitable light weight material, such as sheet metal, in the form of a collar that includes a flange extending into the opening for supporting the closure or door in its closed position, the flange being formed on a channel member mounted on the marginal edge portion of the opening and with the edge portion fixed within the channel, therefore it will be seen that casual removal or displacement of the top member is practically impossible.

A further object is to provide a mud guard having an opening therein for the purpose set forth, that is providedwith a closure having a hinge concealed beneath the guard and protected against dirt and foreign matter, as well as against becoming damaged by broken chains or objects picked up by the wheel.

Another object is to provide a mud guard of the character set forth, that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and extremely efiicient in use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a. side elevation of a guard that includes one form of stop member for the closure or door of the opening.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 2-2 of Figure 1, with the closure or door in closed position in full lines and in partial open position in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken through the form of stop member of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating the manner of applying the stop member of the form of Figures 1 to 3, to the body of the guard.

Figure 5 is a view of a modified form of stop member.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 or a modified arrangement of the parts.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and particularly to the form of Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the reference numeral l indicates the body of a rear guard or fender and which is provided with an elongated opening of substantially oval shape, extending longitudinally of the top and outer side thereof, to allow ready access below the guard, as will be apparent upon inspection of Figure 2. However, the opening may be arranged at any appropriate place desired, but in any event is provided with a closure or door 2 having an outline to fit within the opening flush with the marginal edge thereof and in this form the closure is hinged to the upper edge portion of the opening by a hinge which will-be later described, while in the form of Figure 6,

the closure is hinged at the lower edge portion by the same type of hinge. Otherwise the forms of Figures 1 to 4 and that of Figure 6 are identical.

The closure 2 is curved both longitudinally and transversely to follow the like curvature of the body of the guard, so that when the closure is in closed position, it will not detract from the general streamline appearance of the guard. In fact a section can be out directly from the guard to provide the opening, as well as the closure.

- The stop member of the form of Figures 1 to 4 as well as that disclosed in Figure 6 is of elongated collar i'ormationto fit the opening and is made from any suitable light weight material such as sheet metal to provide a channel element including portions 3 and'4, initially disposed at right angles with respect to each other,

'as shown in Figure 4 to allow for the insertion of the inner channel portion 4 through the opening, with the outer portion 3 resting upon the outer face of the body of the guard. After the stop member is inserted in the opening, the inner channel portion is bent in engagement with the inner face of thebody for disposal of the channel portions in clamping engagement therewith. If desired the channel portions can be spot welded to the body as at 5, but of course they can be fixed in place by any other suitable means such as rivets or the like.

Formed on the looped or bent portion of the channel member in alignment with the inner portion 4 is a flange 6 extending into the opening in the path of the closure or door 2, to provide'an abutment therefor, to hold the same fiush with the marginal edge of the opening, as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The hinge as best shown in Figures 2 and 6 includes a leaf I formed with a-hinge barrel position, the hinge will be concealed, as well as j protected against dirt and foreign matter or against becoming. damaged by loose chains or objects picked up by the wheel. The shield member 8 has an inner wall H of greater width than that of the side walls to provide a flange l2 extending inwardly toward the arcuate member In to increase the shielding function of said member 9, as will be apparent.

The closure is held in closed position by latch members, there preferably being two latch members and each includes a housing l3 having a spring pressed dog-ll therein. The latch members are of course secured to the under face of the closure and adjacent to the ends of the edge portion thereof opposite the hinged portion, so that in the form of Figures 1 to 4, the latch members are secured to the lower edge portion of the closure, while in the form of Figure 6 they are secured to the upper edge portion. The dogs ll of the latch members have handles l5 formed thereon and extending through slots in the closure, so that the latch members can be moved to released position from the outer side of the guard, as will be apparent, upon inspection of Figures 1 and 6.

The modified form of stop member of Figure 5 is likewise of elongated collar formation but is not continuous like the other form, and the channel element It which is preferably U-shape in cross section has its channel portions permanently" disposed in parallelism with each other and formed on the looped portion of the channel element is a flange I! for disposal in the path of the closure. In order to apply the form of Figure 5 in place, with respect to the opening, it will be noted that it is slit as at I8 on an angle of approximately forty-five degrees, so that when the channel element I6 is applied to the edge portion of the opening, the ends of the stop member will be disposed in overlapped association with each other;

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention 'will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim' is:

In a vehicle mud guard including a bodyhav ing an elongated opening extending longitudinally of the top and outer side thereof to allow access below the guard, a hinged closure shaped to fit the opening, and the improvement consisting of a stop member for said closure and being of collar formation to fit the opening, said stop member being slit crosswise at an angle to facilitate its insertion within the opening and including a channel element fixed to the body about the edge portion of the opening with said edge portion mounted in the channel, and a flange formed on the channel element and extending into the opening in the path of the closure for supporting the latter in closed position flush with 40 the upper face of the body.

WILLIAM C. WILSON. 

